Deceiving Dimitri, page 1
DECEIVING DIMITRI
MARIYAM KHAN
CONTENTS
1. The Day Everything Goes Wrong
2. The Spy Game
3. Arrival of the Rival
4. The White Disaster
5. Watchful Eyes
6. The Wrong Suit
7. A Familiar Face
8. Shopping Gone Wrong
9. Aiding the CEO
10. Scandalous Stilettos
11. Confused Breakdown
12. Dinner at the Kingston's
13. Project Thief
14. Accidental Fever
15. Home Assistant
16. Muddled Emotions
17. Savior
18. An Unexpected Accident
19. A Day to Remember
20. Trust
21. A New Way
22. Avoiding the Boss
23. Taming the Beast
24. Road to the Lake House
25. Competition
26. His Past
27. A Rude CEO
28. Babbling Bumbling Bonkers
29. Tight Spaces
30. The Banquet
31. On Knees
32. Bleeding Hearts
33. Deal
34. Messy Encounters
35. Dance with the Devil
36. Only Mine
37. Hickey
38. A Heart to Cherish or Break
39. A New Threat
40. Panic Attack
41. Explanation
42. Caught
43. Thugs and Guns
44. Hot Mess
45. To Save Them
46. Hot Shower
47. Deception
48. The Ultimate Deception
49. Poking Fire
50. Family Comes First
51. Facing Montero
52. Sacrifice
53. A Perilous Storm
54. Graveyard
55. Saying Goodbye
56. Punctured Hearts
57. See You Again
58. Prisoner of Fate
59. Drown
60. Day of Revelation
61. Salvation
Epilogue
Bonus Chapter
Untitled
About the Author
Deceiving Dimitri
By Mariyam Khan
Copyright © 2022 by Mariyam Khan
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the author.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Cover Design: R.L. Cover Designs
Editor: T.L. Hanigan
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ISBN: 9798407609667
ISBN: 9798201513474
Created with Vellum
To my family, my best friend, and my gorgeous editor.
I wouldn't be able to do any of this without you.
CHAPTER 1
THE DAY EVERYTHING GOES WRONG
Darkness had befallen over the hall before a tiny flame flickered, illuminating all that was present in the room. A dozen pairs of eyes broadened, taking the shade of amber, and in a hubbub, everyone yelled, “Happy Birthday, Lauren!”
As instructed, Marisa, the housekeeper, switched the lights back on. I approached the coffee table, setting the strawberry cake in the middle; a customized candle shaped as the numbers seventy-six centered the top.
Chuckling at the hungry expressions, I clapped my hands. “Come, come, everyone. It’s time.”
Like a swarm of aged bees, forty people rushed forward, huddling around a flushed Lauren who, even at this age, looked almost like a fairytale princess in her pink fluffy gown.
“Cut it already, Laurie. I ain’t getting any younger,” Ben urged, bouncing his frail body as much as his age let him, and everyone burst out laughing.
Handing the knife to Lauren, I took a few steps back and angled my camera in the air. “Ready.”
As the birthday girl blew the candle out, the room erupted into another round of happy birthday songs while I took my desired pictures.
One more happy moment to add to the memory keeper.
She cut out triangle pieces of small cakes and fed all the craving mouths until her soft blue eyes drove to me. “Hazel, what are you doing there, dearie? Come here.” She stretched out a relatively large slice of the cake my way.
“Yes, yes. You go. I’ll take the pictures,” Joseph offered, taking the camera from me.
“Alrighty!” I nodded, smiling, and walking in the middle of the crowd.
The smile radiating off Lauren’s face showed all the happiness and gratitude that oozed from her heart.
“Thank you for everything, Hazie!” She pulled me into a motherly hug. “I don’t know if I’ll be here to celebrate my next birthday, but I’ll die in peace, knowing you’re here to take care of all these Oompa Loompas.” Her voice cracked as her words trailed off.
Pulling out of the hug, I wiped the tears staining her wrinkled cheeks and fixed the party hat over her small gray bun. “Don’t say that, lady. You’re living at least a hundred years with all these wonderful Oompa Loompas wishing for you,” I said with a giggle and lifted her hand containing the cake, lightly pushing it to her thin lips.
She extended it towards me, and I took a bite of the delicious fluffy delicacy, my taste buds dancing in delight.
After the whole cake was devoured, everyone delivered their presents one by one. When it was my time, I pulled out the flat, red-wrapped gift and extended it to Laurie.
“Thank you, darling.” She began ripping the decorative paper slowly.
All eyes watched curiously, everyone holding their breath. They were definitely going to be satisfied. I had been thinking about this present for the last two months.
As the last casing was undone, and the velvety-covered book was out, frowns formed on every forehead. Eyeing the flock, Lauren proceeded to turn the cover.
Gasps echoed throughout the walls of the old-age home as everybody hovered over the photo album, turning page after page, oohing and laughing at the memories.
A lone tear escaped my eye, and my heart fluttered with heavenly bliss to see these elderly people so happy. I had taken weeks inserting pictures I had been collecting ever since my mother introduced me to this place. She wasn’t here anymore, but I had the people she called family, the place she called home.
A pat on my shoulder made me wipe my eyes in haste, and I looked up at Joseph. His warm brown eyes held the same glee. “Your mother would be so proud of you, kid.”
“Thanks.” I draped my arm around his hunched shoulders and sighed. “I’ll never leave you guys ever again.”
“Hey, whatever you do, don’t make us your burden, eh?” His hand ruffled the brown locks on my head.
“Correction.” I glanced at him, ruffling whatever hair was left on his head. It was our thing since the day we knew each other. “Y’all are my strength, old man.”
A gasp snatched our attention towards the crowd.
“Oh look, it’s a picture of Joseph picking his nose!”
Oops! My eyes widened, and I bit my lip, trying to stop the cackle threatening to come out.
Of all the elders, Joseph was the one man who liked to come off as the cool, composed guy, never showing a flaw. However, at my younger age, I had been on a mission to expose him, and the day finally came on a lazy summer morning when I captured a picture that would ruin his perfect image.
The hall burst out in laughter.
“Hazie, you did it!” Chester exclaimed.
Gulping, I released Joseph and ran around the L-shaped sofa, but so did he, limping behind me with his walking cane held high.
“Where are you going, kid? You can’t escape me today.”
“Not my fault. Donald challenged me,” I spoke between laughs.
“What? No!” Came Donald’s wide-eyed rejection.
Apparently, everyone feared Joseph except me, for I had known him in a way no one else did.
Suddenly Joseph stopped, his hand lifting to his chest, but it felt as if my heartbeat stopped. I rushed to him along with the others.
“Joseph! Joseph, are you all ri—”
Without warning, his arm wrapped around my shoulder, and his pained expression turned into a mischievous one. “Gotcha!”
I gasped. When his hand lifted, my eyes shut tight.
Everything went silent.
A second passed.
Two seconds passed.
When nothing happened, I opened my eyes to see him smirking, and his hand landed on my back, gently patting me. “You got me, kid.”
The tension dangling over the room cleared, and everyone erupted into another round of laughter.
“You got me, too, old man.” I laughed.
That very moment, as I saw all these cheerful faces who once forgot how to even smile, my heart poured with warmth. I felt complete for the first time since my mother died six years ago
The sound of the front door slamming against the wall startled everyone.
What was that?
Frowning, I turned around and marched out of the room, down the hallway to the reception area. My eyes widened in horror.
A group of men in black forayed inside with baseball bats in their hands. Before I could open my mouth, they started smashing the furniture and the decorative pieces Mom organized with her own hands. My heart shattered with each swing they took.
Jeremy, the guard of this old-age home, came rushing before me.
“Hazel, you stay behind.” He pulled out his gun, pointing it at them. “Stop it, or I’ll shoot!”
“Jeremy, boy. There’s no need to get so violent now,” a voice like grinding metal that sounded all too familiar spoke.
My head snapped in the direction.
Ryan, my stepfather’s thug of security, walked through the door, his smirk broadening as his eyes drove to me.
No. That man did not.
My jaw clenched, and blood boiled like lava through my veins. Pushing Jeremy out of my way, I stalked forward. “Stop this right now!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
But no one listened. They continued to destroy the home. Pieces of glass lay on the hardwood floor, debris from the walls flew to the ground.
Frustrated, I directed my enraged gaze to the suited man. “Ryan,” I gritted out.
He let out a grating chuckle before putting up an arm with his palm splayed.
“Stop.”
As expected, the men stopped hitting and turning over things. They stared at us in their proud stances with the bats resting high on their shoulders as if to say, ‘Bitch, another order, and we can burn the whole place down.’
“What the hell is going on?” I demanded.
“Chill your panties, princess. Boss’s order. Have to vacate this place.”
“What the hell are you talking about? This is my mother’s property.”
“Not anymore.” He smirked again, the scar on his right cheek creasing with the action. If those thugs looked scary, he doubled them with his ragged features and the tight bun on his jet-black hair. “This is the perfect venue for a lucrative resort,” he announced.
“What…”
I swirled my head. All the elders had gathered in the corridor, eyes widened in fear. The way my heart glided over the highest sky before, now drowned into the deepest pit of the ocean. That man couldn’t do this to me, to my mother, to these people. This is the place we held the closest to our hearts. He knew that very well, yet he decided to betray us like this.
I vigorously wiped the tears off my face. I couldn’t let him do that. Never.
“I’m going to talk to him. Take your dogs out of here.”
Glancing at Jeremy and the rest of the staff, I instructed, “Take care of them until I’m back.” Walking to the exit, I stopped and inclined my head to the side, fear still gripping my heart. “Ryan, if one hair on their body is harmed, you’ll have your wife coming after you,” I smirked.
I had the pictures of him cheating, and I knew that he feared his gangster of a wife more than he feared heights.
Without wasting one more second, I hopped into my Chevrolet and drove straight to the Montero Inc. The guard greeted me and opened the door. Greeting him back, I climbed up the elevator to the fifteenth floor of the most corrupted structure. Grim gray walls and lavish furniture made it live up to its name. I stomped towards his office when his personal secretary blocked my way. She looked like the younger version of Amy Elliot Dunne from Gone Girl with her short bob hair and dark eyes.
“Ms. Green, wait! You can’t go in there. Boss is in a meet—”
Before she could finish her sentence, I barged inside, my nostrils fuming and eyes flaring. “Mr. Montero!”
Three pairs of eyes turned to me, two widened and one pissed.
Well, the feeling was mutual.
“Sir, I tried to stop her but she—”
“Out.” He gestured to the men and the secretary, and they were gone in a heartbeat.
The six-foot build of Daniel Montero rose and strolled around his desk. His perfect, organized state could fool one to believe he was one venerable soul to walk the earth, but unfortunately, his eyes gave it away. They were his only flaw, as well as the most powerful weapons, intense and terrifying. One look at those deep bottomless holes, and you’d be left threatened, vulnerable even.
“Looks like living abroad have queered your manners,” he said.
My teeth ground against each other. This was the first time I was seeing him after he forcefully sent me to Canada. At that time, I wasn’t mature enough for the world to defer his decision. But time had changed. I was twenty-four now. He was no longer my guardian. He couldn’t force anything else on me anymore.
“You can’t do this.”
“As per the testament, I can do whatever I want.”
“The testament is rigged!”
Mom died before she could write her will regarding her properties, but somehow a brand-new testament appeared right after her death with her authentic signature on it. Everything belonged to him except my two-bedroom apartment where I lived now.
Now even a drunk mental person could smell the conspiracy in this.
“And that place is gold. Situated at the center of the city, it will be the most profitable of all my resorts,” he said, his eyes wide with rapacity.
“How can you be so heartless? Where will those people go? They’re shelterless, for God’s sake!”
“That’s none of my concern. Now if you’re done, you can help escort your friends out of my property,” he spoke in a tone of dismissal, amplifying the last two words and turning away.
Fear clutched its deathly tendrils around my heart, washing away my valiant attitude. If he demolished the old-age home and constructed a resort there, where would those elderly people go? On the streets?
My heart pounded in my chest, threatening to come out of my mouth. I had to protect them, that’s what I promised Mom. So, I swallowed my pride and let out my true vulnerable self. “Please, don’t do this. Please.”
He faced me again, a smile on his face, then it disappeared like smoke in thin air. “No. You know the loss my business is going through because of those Kingston’s. How can I simply let go of such a beneficial site?”
“I’ll do anything. Please.” The words rolled off my tongue so low even I couldn’t believe that I said those.
His brow arched. “What?”
My eyes shut tight, along with my shaking fists. “I will do anything you ask if you don’t harm the place and the people.”
His smirk only grew as if he had been waiting just for this. “Anything?”
I nodded. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was in a panicked trance, and all that mattered to me were those people.
“On second thought, I might leave that place alone. I’m not so heartless, you know.” The evil smirk occupying his face hinted of a storm coming my way. That greedy man wouldn’t spare something big without gaining an even bigger profit.
I gulped, holding onto my breath. “What do you want me to do?”
“It’s simple.” He padded closer to me and leaned down. “I want you to bring me information.”
I frowned. “What information?”
“From the Kingston’s.”
My frown only deepened. The Kingston Corporation was his rival company who owned more than a hundred successful hotels, motels, and resorts around the world, whereas Daniel Montero owned only sixty-five, with half of them bringing nothing but loss.
